If you are expanding your current used car dealership to the point where you need to invest in management software, there are a few things you need to look for as you compare what is offered to dealerships. The following are a few questions you should ask about the software and the company selling it.
How good is their technical support?
Of course, every software company will claim that their software is easy to use or that it is intuitive to learn, but your employees will have problems and need help. And because this type of software can take time to learn, you will need the technical support to last more than a few weeks. Ideally, technical support should have no ending date and be free. But some companies will place a limit on how long you get free support before they start charging. Also, you want a large window of support hours during the day for your employees to call for help, and because dealerships are usually open seven days a week, you want the support staff to be available every day as well.
How much of your present software will it replace?
Much of what is needed for a small car dealership can be accomplished with a variety of programs. For example, you can track sales with spreadsheets. Inventory can be done with a simple database, and you can use simple software programs for your bookkeeping. One of the important aspects of dealership software is to replace most, if not all, of your present programs with one program. The efficiency gained from this will reduce your costs and increase your dealership's productivity.
How many features does it have to help your business's growth?
Your present software system or system of several programs may be lacking in areas that could benefit your dealership greatly. One primary example is likely to be sales. You need to evaluate what sales features this program has. Good dealership management software will have a customer resource management feature. This will allow you to generate sales leads and follow up on them. You may see an increase in sales simply by having this feature in the software. Other features that are likely to help involve such things as out-of-state titles, taxes, and inventory management.
You need to take your time shopping for dealership management software for your expanding car company. This type of software will require a commitment by you and your employees.
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